Iron Lady
by AlmightyAeneas
Summary: The Great Uniter has been humbled and beaten. Her last ace in the hole, the Spirit Cannon, had backfired. If not for the Avatar, her enemy, she would have died. But perhaps she might as well have? For reasons unknown to her, she was now stranded in a land completely foreign to her, surrounded by beasts and monsters who desired nothing more than to tear her to shreds.


**Chapter 1 – Little Tin Goddess**

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This just wasn't Kuvira's day.

Everything had been laid out and meticulously planned. It had all been going her way, exactly as she'd laid out. President Raiko, that self-serving parasite of a man, had ordered his forces to stand down and had been in the process of surrendering. He had been terrified into submission by the awe-inspiring new weapon designed by her beloved fiancé. A walking metal behemoth, forged from the towering platinum domes that had once protected Zaofu's citizens. Her citizens. No metalbender was going to take it down, not with all of the platinum.

There had been no need for such things anymore, not when _she_ was to be what protected her people now, from this day forth until her death. Kuvira had no intention of allowing any harm to come to her Earth Empire.

The Colossus had been as much a work of art as it was a weapon of war, the finest and final project of her dearest Baatar, genius that he was. A giant metal man with the perfect defense, the platinum, and the perfect offense, the Spirit Cannon that he had spent years designing in tandem with that traitor Varrick. With it, Baatar had finally eclipsed his father, stepping out of the man's shadow and becoming his own person. She was so very proud of her fiancé.

It was a shame that she'd just tried to murder him.

Not that it had been easy for her to pull the trigger, quite the contrary in fact. Out of all the difficult decisions that she had forced herself to make over the past three years, that had been by far the most harrowing. The most heart shattering. But… sacrifices were necessary for the greater good. Baatar had known the risks. He had known what was important. Not them, but the empire. She asked her men to put their lives on the line every day, to put their nation before themselves. What kind of leader would she be if she didn't hold herself to that same high standard?

No, she would not be the former Earth Queen.

Baatar had been captured, smuggled away by the Avatar and her allies while he had been in the process of accepting Raiko's surrender. No doubt her enemies tried to interrogate Baatar, but Kuvira knew her fiancé. They would have gotten nothing out of him. She doubted that even Suyin Beifong, his own mother, could get anything out of him. Not after all the times the Beifong Matriarch had degraded and belittled her child for making his own decisions. Suyin had never been very good at accepting she couldn't control the lives of her family.

Then came the call. The fools had actually given him one of their radios! Baatar spoke to her, telling her to give it up, that they could end this peacefully and just go back to their already considerable empire. Rule it as it should be ruled. It was tempting, she would not lie. But they had come to Republic City for a reason, and she did not intend to stop until her banners were hanging on the skyscrapers. Besides, Kuvira knew damn well that the Avatar was holding him hostage, putting him up to this. But that was fine; she didn't blame him for it. In fact, she really should have been thanking him.

Baatar radioing her had allowed her to figure out exactly where they were keeping him captive. Exactly where every single one of her most troubling enemies were, sitting together like turtleducks all lined up in a row. The Avatar and her friends; those traitors Bolin, Zhu Li, and Varrick; the airbenders; her former f- the Beifongs. All in the same warehouse. Waiting. With no way to escape. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Tears had threatened to fall from her eyes as she agonized over the decision, listening to his deep voice over the radio, but she had already known the answer. She had known what needed to be done. So, Kuvira had done what any competent commander would have done: strengthened her resolve and gave the command. Yes, her heart had torn in two as she watched the warehouse go up in flames, the power of the Spirit Cannon on display, but she had given herself no time to grieve or process it. There was a city to be won.

That was when everything went downhill, to put it mildly.

As it had turned out, not only had the Avatar and her allies survived the blast, they had all survived completely unscathed. No one was injured, much less dead. She had fired on her fiancé for nothing. Evidently, he hadn't appreciated it either, because soon enough she had the ants swarming around her Colossus, attacking all of its weak spots. Baatar had told them.

Had he really betrayed her? He gave in and told them the weaknesses of his finest creation? After everything they had been through…? An adolescence spent sneaking glances at each other and blushing; the past three years spent fighting side by side with each other. They were all the other had. Did it all mean nothing to him? Did he know naught of loyalty? Baatar knew the risks! He had known she would always place her ideals before herself, before them, or at least he should have after all the time! If their positions had been reversed she would have gladly given her life so that her nation could thrive! Why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't any of them see that?

If there had been no time to grieve, there was certainly no time to dwell on such things. Such a betrayal. She had to focus on the problem at hand. Namely, that she was being attacked at close range by some of the most powerful benders of their era in a mech that was meant for medium to long range combat. It was rather akin to trying to swat flies out of midair.

Armed with Baatar's knowledge of the machine, it wasn't long before they managed to find a way to infiltrate the Colossus and start swarming the mechanical behemoth.

First, went the Spirit Cannon, the entire right arm of the Colossus being detached and sent tumbling down into the green foliage of the Spirit Wilds. That had the workings of Suyin written all over it.

Next, appeared the Avatar, raring for a fight that Kuvira was only too happy to give her. She had almost killed Korra during their fight back at Zaofu, but had been rudely interrupted by those damn airbenders before she could strike the final blow. Kuvira had intended to rectify that mistake, but the universe seemed to want to shit all over her today. The battle had been intense, a surprisingly even back and forth that would have left Kuvira feeling giddy if the situation wasn't so serious. To think, she was on equal footing with a fully realized Avatar, master of all four elements! She was just Kuvira, perhaps the greatest practitioner of metalbending to ever live, but still master of only a single element.

Their battle came to an abrupt halt, however, as the final piece of her enemies' plan came to fruition. Someone had infiltrated the Colossus and made their way down to the core, because of course they had. Of course her soldiers hadn't been enough to stop them. Of course the infiltrators had managed to figure out how to set the core to detonate. Of course, of course, of course! Why the fuck not?!

The detonation of the core had torn the Colossus in two, with the upper half, torso and head included, slamming onto the ground. Kuvira felt herself get tossed around inside like a ping pong ball, getting tossed onto every surface in the ruined command deck. The Avatar had to all but drag her out of what could have been their tomb. Korra even had the gall to order her to surrender.

Kuvira had promptly responded by throwing a brick in Korra's face.

While the Avatar dealt with what was hopefully a concussion, Kuvira had decided to make her daring getaway. Well, as fast as someone with a notable limp could. The crash and the fight with Korra had done a number on her, as loathe as she was to admit it.

Which brought her to where she was now: running for cover and considering her next moves. She didn't have many, if she was being perfectly honest with herself.

Kuvira stumbled through the somewhat intact streets of Republic City, hand clutching at her side as she headed towards her hopeful salvation. It was fairly clear that Korra had taken the crash better than she had, the Avatar most likely using her airbending to cushion the fall. That meant that Kuvira was at a hefty disadvantage. She had been going toe to toe with Korra before, but only because she had been able to move freely. That… was going to be somewhat more difficult now. Kuvira was fairly sure she had broken a rib or two.

Fighting wasn't an option, not injured like this, so she had fled. If she could regroup with her army she might yet be able to salvage this whole disaster. All she had to do was escape Korra, and just her luck, they had crashed right next to the perfect place to do so: the Spirit Wilds!

Three years prior, Avatar Korra had fought and vanquished an evil spirit of gargantuan size in the bay just outside Republic City, but not before the creature had summoned its vines to consume the defenseless metropolis. The whole thing seemed ludicrous to Kuvira, what did an ancient spirit of darkness have to do with plants? But then again, what did she know about spirits? It's not like she had personally been there to witness the bout. But what she did know was that those vines held power; they were what powered the Spirit Cannon, using them like batteries.

The Spirit Wilds of Republic City though… they were on an entirely different level than the vines her army had harvested from Foggy Swamp. Entire city blocks consumed by the tendrils of the vines, becoming more of a forest than anything. They were difficult to navigate and she had heard that it was dangerously easy to get lost in them, a number of errant civilians disappearing in them… Which meant that they were perfect for her purposes.

"Kuvira, give up!" She heard Korra's voice echo throughout the vine covered street. The Avatar already considered herself victorious.

Kuvira's response was simple, more for her own sake than for Korra's. "Never…" She whispered, strengthening her resolve once more. Spirits knew that she needed it in this situation, trapped between a rock and a hard place.

She pushed herself forward, swiping away the dark foliage blocking her path with her free hand. A gasp escaped her lips, and Kuvira was stunned into silence by the sight before her. Staring her dead in the eyes was the titanic barrel of the Spirit Cannon pointed directly at her, the weapon held in midair by the vines it had landed on. It was like a marionette, tangled in strings.

This was it. This was the chance that she needed. The Spirit Cannon should have had enough for one more blast. If she could just manage to climb up there she could end this! When Korra came charging in after her, like Kuvira knew she would, she could manually fire the cannon and wipe the Avatar off the face of the earth! With Korra gone, all of her friends and allies would surrender to her army, their morale shattered without their champion. Kuvira could win this. This day could still mean something even after all of her setbacks.

Clambering up to the Spirit Cannon was child's play; all she had needed to do was lift herself up to the controls with earthbending, the ground rising up at her command. She found the switch that would fire the massive weapon and waited, counting the moments for Korra to stumble into her trap. Thankfully, she did not have to wait long.

"Please, stop this madness! It has to end now!"

Kuvira knew that the Avatar was getting closer by the sound of her voice, those desperate pleas calling out for her to surrender, to stop all of this. Korra called this madness. Madness? Perhaps, but only because Korra herself had made it so. Everything would have been just fine if Korra had left well enough alone… Kuvira would have taken back the rightful land that belonged to the Earth Empire, stolen almost a century prior. Then she would have justly ruled over her empire, making her nation into the superpower it deserved to be. Her people would never suffer again.

"If you really want to end it, then come and get me!" Kuvira shouted back, luring the Avatar to her certain doom. Her hand itched, grasping the fire switch tight, eager to push forward and let the chaos begin. But not yet… it was almost time…

And sure enough, mere moments later, Korra burst through the bushes as she charged towards Kuvira's husky voice. The look of shock on the Avatar's face was delicious, Korra stopping in her tracks and just standing there gaping like a stuffed fish! Not that Kuvira could blame the girl. After all, Korra currently had a gun the size of a building pointed at her face.

"Now it's over." Kuvira declared with the utmost certainty. The Avatar's desperate plea to stop fell on deaf ears as Kuvira flipped the switch and the colossal gun began charging.

The Spirit Cannon fired and all hell broke loose.

The sound of the Spirit Cannon firing was ear piercing at this close of a range and Kuvira couldn't help but to wince, fighting the urge to cover her ears. She held fast though, even with all the power of a god surging beneath her fingertips. To her incredible disappointment, the Avatar had managed to dodge out of the way of the blast, being sent sprawling to the ground a good distance away. Damn… that had been her one shot.

However, she had no time to lament her failed plan and crushed dreams before the spirit vines surrounding the weapon began to light up and glow the same color as the beam coming from the cannon, a bright magenta verging on white… and then the entire forest around them soon followed… and it was at this point that Kuvira realized that she'd fucked up.

The strength of the beam immediately intensified tenfold, becoming more powerful than Kuvira could have ever comprehended. Even Baatar, the man who had designed the weapon, would have never considered this possible. The Spirit Cannon used a spirit vine as its power source. A single vine. Now it was activated in a forest made up entirely of the stuff, and it was consuming them. Before, the Spirit Cannon was capable of blasting half of a mountain into dust. As it was now… it could probably wipe out the entire city in one go.

The Spirit Cannon began to swing wildly, being propelled by the force of the blast but still being held in place by all the vines it had gotten itself tangled in when it had landed. And unfortunately, Kuvira was along for the ride. If she wasn't so focused on holding onto the rapidly spinning weapon of mass destruction, there is no doubt in her mind that she would have vomited profusely.

"Shut it down!" Korra's voice was somehow still audible over all the chaos.

Not being one to have to be told twice, Kuvira tightened her grip on the control switch and pulled it back to the off position. The Spirit Cannon did not shut down. It was getting too much power from the Spirit Wilds; it must have overloaded the control panel. That was… bad.

"I can't!" Kuvira cried out, her voice cracking slightly, giving away just how terrified she truly was at the moment.

Without warning, the Spirit Cannon shook and Kuvira was finally knocked loose from her perch, hitting the ground hard and her body was sent skidding. Groaning, she lifted her head up to get a clearer view of the situation… Only to find the giant beam of vaguely purple death heading her way. All she could do was gasp and watch in horror; it would have been beautiful if she wasn't going to die in a few moments. She didn't even have time to think, to regret the actions that had led her to this point. She was about to be vaporized into nonexistence.

Except she wasn't.

Instead, the Avatar had leapt in front of her, between her and the beam of the Spirit Cannon. Kuvira had no earthly idea what the fuck Korra was doing, but at least she could take some solace in the fact that she wasn't going to die alone. Except, to the bafflement of the Great Uniter lying helpless on the ground, Korra began bending (bending!) the beam of pure spirit energy. The world was bathed in a bright magenta hue, the only thing standing between Kuvira and certain annihilation being the girl she had just been trying to murder not even a minute prior.

It was insane! The amount of power that would be needed to hold the Spirit Cannon at bay in this situation, even normally… Where was this strength before? Why hadn't Korra used it on her? She would have been soundly defeated almost instantly! Just how much power did Korra have? Why did she insist on holding back such monstrous strength all the time? Why was she saving her life?

These were the questions on Kuvira's mind as her hair whipped back, pushed by the sheer wind and force being generated from Korra's clash with the beam. The struggle only intensified, the light getting brighter and brighter, the wind becoming so powerful that Kuvira was surprised that she wasn't being tossed away like a leaf in the wind.

And then the world exploded.

There was a sound more deafening than the eruption of a volcano and a light so blinding that it consumed every fiber of her being. Even if she closed her eyes, she knew that she would have been able to see as if she was in the light of day.

And then nothing.

Darkness.

A blank.

She had the strangest sensation of floating, almost like she was adrift in an endless sea. Soon that feeling was replaced by a sense of falling, but also of being caught at the last moment. When Kuvira came to, it was to the comfort of being cradled in someone's arms. But who would…? She glanced up, her heart seizing up in terror as the vivid blue eyes of the Avatar gazed at her with… was that concern? Or was it pity?

Kuvira pushed herself away as forcefully as she could, stumbling and falling into a field of violet flowers. The colors here were bright, more intense than what she was used to, but subtly so. It was like seeing for the first time. In any other situation she might have stopped and appreciated the beauty around her, but she was exhausted and injured with the most powerful being on the planet staring down at her. She didn't know where they were, she didn't know what had happened. All Kuvira knew what that she needed to get out of here _right the fuck now!_

Her legs moved without even thinking.

Kuvira didn't stop to chat, not even as she heard Korra scream her name, her tone full of warning. Kuvira didn't stop to consider _why_ the Avatar had sounded so worried (what does a god have to worry about?), only that her very survival depended on getting as far away from Avatar Korra as possible. If she didn't… Kuvira shuddered, not wanting to consider the possibilities.

So, she ran.

She ran even with the piercing pain in her side.

She ran even when she felt like she was going to collapse.

She ran far past the point of where she should have been able to run anymore, for Kuvira was nothing if not stubborn.

She just needed to get away, get away, get away! She repeated this mantra in her mind, holding onto it like her life depended on it, which to her it very well did. Anywhere would be fine! Just as long as she could get away from what waited for her in the other direction. Just so long as she could escape the judgement of a god.

The world around her seemed to respond to her thoughts, or more accurately, her jumbled emotions. The scenery almost seemed to… shift, landscapes zooming past her as she continued to run. Mountains and lakes passed her by, she ran on beaches and crags from one instant to the next. Finally, it settled and Kuvira collapsed, unable to run any further. Where… where was she? Why had the shifting scenery come to a halt? Kuvira surveyed her surroundings, becoming more and more perturbed by the moment.

Trees surrounded her in every direction, the woods so thick that she couldn't even fathom where they ended. It was just trees, trees, and more trees, as far as the eye could see. She couldn't even spot the sky, glancing upwards. The foliage was too thick, the branches interwoven and mingling. A pit formed in Kuvira's stomach. This place reminded her of the Swamp. Despite the denseness of the woods, light seems to penetrate and fill the forest she was in. By all rights, the forest should have been as dark as night… and yet it wasn't. It was as bright as any spring morning. What a curious phenomenon… one that didn't make any sense to her, although she was sure that Baatar would have had a field day trying to explain this.

Ah. Right. Baatar…

Kuvira shook her head, brushing such thoughts aside. This wasn't the time to dwell on that, not when her very survival was on the line ("When was?" A voice in the back of her head mocked). She couldn't see any sign of the Avatar, Korra's voice having faded long ago, so that was a good sign at least. Still, it would be a poor idea to stay in any one place for too long. The Avatar was supposed to be the Bridge between the Spirit World and the Real World, so it was best assumed that she had some privileges here. After all, as far as Kuvira could tell she _was_ in the Spirit World. Which made absolutely no sense to her. How did she even…?

Well, it didn't matter. If the laws of basic physics were as messed up as they seemed to be around her, what with the light coming from nowhere and the zooming landscapes, then that meant she was in the Spirit World.

There had to be a way back home somewhere, right? She knew there were portals at both the North Pole and the South Pole. If she could find where those led to… if she could find their exits (entrances?), she could feasibly make her way back to her empire before too much damage was done.

Kuvira sighed deeply at her less than stellar situation, leading her to realize just how dry her throat was. In fact, she was parched. She had spent the past hour or so fighting for her life, getting tossed around like a rag doll, and narrowly avoiding the clutches of certain death. So yeah, she was extremely thirsty.

Fortunately for her, these woods seemed to be filled with a multitude of small ponds dotting the ground every few feet or so. It was kind of amazing she hadn't tripped into one while running to this place, as closely spread together as they were. Just like the forest itself, the pools seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, never ending. The water in them looked clean and pure, like fresh spring water deep underground. The ponds were also very still. Looking into one was almost akin to looking into a mirror, which speaking of; Kuvira noticed that she looked like shit.

Normally, it wasn't the best idea to drink from still water, but she was out of options and willing to risk it. Besides, this was the Spirit World. Why would the Spirit World have things like algae and mosquitoes and all other sorts of parasites that dwelled in still water?

Kneeling down at the nearest pond, being careful not to agitate her wounds, Kuvira gingerly cupped her hands and lowered them into the water, breaking the perfect stillness of the pond.

Her fingers had barely even brushed the surface when she felt a sudden intense pull. All she heard was a splash before everything went dark once more.

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 **This chapter was more setup than anything. It's the only chapter I have planned that takes place in the universe of Avatar. So don't worry, Remnant is going to be popping up real soon, just you wait. It was meant to be an introduction to Kuvira's character and what she's about. This is going to be a fic focused heavily on her character, her potential, and her growth. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a redemption arc for her… but we'll see how the die rolls.**

 **Why Kuvira though? Why not Korra or literally anyone else that isn't a villain? And honestly I just think she has more potential for this kind of thing. To me she just would bounce off the RWBY characters better, and she offers a unique perspective on things. I have plans… Oh boy do I have plans… Also, I probably just know Kuvira's character the best. She's easy to write for me.**

 **Edit 5/23: Corrected grammar mistakes I had missed on my initial upload. So with that in mind, I could really use a beta for this story.**


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